


Suffocating

by Kavella



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-04-28 19:43:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5103380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kavella/pseuds/Kavella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a bounty hunter targets the crew, specifically Ezra, the crew has to discover who the man is and why he is after their youngest member. As they delve deeper into his past, they realize that not everything is as it seems. But with the Empire gaining on them and the bounty hunter right on their tail, the truth has to come out. But when it does, it only leads to more tragedy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this fic will deviate a bit from cannon, and it will be a bit darker than my other fics. It takes place after Ezra gets his lightsaber, but before the new Inquisitors are introduced in season 2 (who, by the way, look totally badass). Just a heads up! But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Kanan stood still, his blaster trained on the man in front of him. He kept his face stone cold, despite his emotions going haywire.

"Don't take another step," the man said, pressing the gun against Ezra's forehead. The kid's struggling froze and his eyes closed, feeling the cold barrel pressed up against his skin. His arms still tugged at the arm wrapped around his neck, holding him in a death choke. Ezra's legs dangled as the man, now as Kanan realized was a bounty hunter, held him up. "Or the kid dies."

The bounty hunter wore black clothing with belts and gadgets attached all over his chest, waist, and legs. His face was hidden behind a bleak mask, the only feature a slim dark shield hiding his eyes, and a small mouth vent.

A gasp escaped from Ezra, sending a chill through his body. Kanan let his guard down for a moment, his eyes darting to his padawan. He struggled against the arm holding him, but his blue eyes were looking away in defiance. Kanan could sense through their bond that he was rather unpleased at the situation at hand.

But his momentary drop in his façade was recognizable by the bounty hunter. He held his arm tighter to his body, pressing harder on Ezra's neck. Ezra gasped again, his body starting to shake from the lack of air, legs kicking the air.

Kanan focused back on the man, his weapon raised. He tuned out Ezra's struggling and his pain, telling himself that the only way he could help his student was by remaining emotionless.

"You kill him, I kill you," Kanan threatened. His extended arm remained still, the gun in his hand steady. The bounty hunters grasp tightened, as if refusing to let go. Kanan felt his stomach flip as his heart raced. Ezra let out another gasp, craning his neck up towards the ceiling of the warehouse, trying to get air to his lungs. His arms clawed at the man's muscular arm, but the man did not seem to notice.

"Are you really willing to risk his life?" the man asked, his modulated voice taunting Kanan. He already knew the answer.

It was his greatest fear when he began training Ezra. He was, after all, still a teenager. Kanan knew what world he was bringing him into; a world filled with danger and destruction. But his fears had subsided once he had begun. Ezra was a quick learner, making progress considerably fast, given the circumstances.

Hera risked taking a step closer to the bounty hunter. "Are you?" she asked, her gun raised and armed. Kanan had momentarily forgotten her presence, his mind too focused on Ezra's labored gasps.

The bounty hunter flinched, his grasp lessening ever so slightly. That was one thing he had learned when he was on his own; every man for himself. It was an instinct to bounty hunters. But Kanan was living proof that people could change. He had a team now, and despite everything, he truly liked it. He focused back on the bounty hunter as his gun moved away from Ezra's forehead.

Ezra sucked in a deep breath, his eyes closing as fresh air filled his lungs. He opened them again, and his breathing had steadied. It was still shallow, and a bit uneven, but it was better than having no air.

Kanan kept his attention on the bounty hunter, but used the force to watch over Ezra. The bounty hunter, now knowing he was defeated, grew nervous. His head turned slightly, looking for some type of way out. Kanan spoke up again, hoping to defuse the situation.

"There's no escape. Lower your weapon, and we'll let you walk out of here alive." He sensed Hera taking another step closer, and they were standing side by side.

"I think you're mistaken," the bounty hunter said, his nervousness washing away. His grip tightened as Kanan heard Ezra try and fail to take in air.

The man raised his blaster at Kanan, pointed right at his chest. A chill was sent through him, knowing that the man would take the shot.

And he did.

But when the sound of the blaster shot exploded through the warehouse, there was no pain. Only worry.

His padawan, at the last second and while still in the man's choke hold, kicked the man's gun to the right. The shot had fired, but it did not hit its intended target. Instead, the lights flashed and darkness took over. Kanan, in a state of panic, could not reach out through the force.

Three shots went off, the red light illuminating the warehouse for a split second before it returned to black. None of them were fired by Kanan or Hera. He holstered his gun, his fumbling fingers detaching the parts of his blade from his belt.

He heard struggling, a loud clang, and Ezra grunting in pain before something dropped to the ground.

The two parts of his blade clicked together, and upon rotating them, the blue light illuminated the room.

"Ezra!" Hera shouted, drawing closer to Kanan. A small light was illuminated from the far side of the warehouse, a silhouette running out.

"Over here!" a pained voice answered, and they rushed to the sound, leaving the man to escape.

"Ezra, are you alright?" Hera asked. Kanan's blade dimly illuminated the two of them. Hera kneeled next to the kid, who was lying on the sticky pavement.

"I'm okay," he said, rubbing the back of his head as he forced himself into a sitting position. Kanan bent down on the opposite side of Hera, and with his free hand, helped him the rest of the way up. Ezra's back was sticky, and Kanan retracted it, wiping the unknown substance off on his grey pants. "Really, I am. Come on, he's getting away!" Kanan looked at Hera, their eyes locking. He knew that his padawan would not admit to being injured easily, and with the dim light, there was no way of telling. Kanan decided it was best to let it go for now.

"He's already gone. Besides, we should get out of here before-"

"Blast them!" The three rebels whipped their gaze to the left. The large hangar door was opening, the light from the Lothal street flooding in. Kanan jumped up, deflecting the shots that came too close for comfort. Hera began firing back, pushing Ezra behind her. For once, he complied.

"Quick – out that door!" Kanan shouted, and they sprinted away. Kanan ran to the front, pushing through the door and into the street. Hera followed, and behind her Ezra. The door closed behind them, but the troopers were not that far behind. Kanan scanned the busy street, surprised by the people going on with their daily lives, oblivious to what they were running from. The bounty hunter was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on!" he turned to face his padawan, who was now sitting in a landspeeder, the engine roaring. Exchanging a glance with Hera, Kanan did not have time to question how Ezra had gotten it running. They jumped in, Hera sliding in next to Ezra and Kanan in the back. The teen pushed the handles forward, steering expertly around pedestrians and narrowly avoiding the edges of buildings.

It reminded Kanan of the first time he had meet the boy. When he had maneuvered through the crowd of people, it seemed almost effortless, and Kanan was intrigued. He thought that no one would be able to do that on their own without the force.

Ezra turned sharply, and they were out of the city. The wind blew the stay strands of his hair out of his face, his messy ponytail whipping behind him. He closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing, as he stretched his mind and connected with the force.

He sensed two speeders following them, about to turn the corner they had just passed. And once they escaped into the fields, there would no doubt be TIE fighters.

He drew back, his senses retracting, when a flash of fire shot through his veins. He opened his eyes, gasping as the feeling subsided.

"Kanan?" Hera asked, her eyes on him and her voice etched in concern. Her headtails wavered in the wind.

"We have company," he answered, brushing off the moment of pain. He would figure out what that was later.

The landspeeder jostled as the speeders came into range. Ezra grunted as he tried to remain in control.

"This piece of junk can't handle another shot like that!" he shouted, the wind muffling his already hoarse voice.

"Ezra!" Hera shouted, and the vehicle swerved to the right, narrowly avoiding a collision. Kanan mentally rolled his eyes. The next lesson would definitely be about focus. Apparently the other ten lessons before had still not stuck.

Kanan stood on the backseat, facing the perusing speeders. His blade ignited, deflecting the shots that would have burned a hole through the stolen landspeeder they were escaping in. They were directed back at the speeders, and one of them got lucky. He felt the heated blast push the landspeeder forward as the explosion sparked.

This seemed to make the other trooper determined. He fired again, and one shot slipped by his lightsaber. They jerked forward as the warning bells and flashing lights started blaring.

"It's gonna blow!" Ezra shouted, his knuckles turning white as he clung to the steering handles. He looked up at Kanan, blue eyes seeking the reassurance that Kanan had some type of plan.

But for once, Kanan did not.

He continued deflecting the trooper's shots, hoping for some type of miracle. The pavement ended, and the tall yellow grass took over, the wind from the landspeeder whipping the blades to the side. Kanan's heart pounded in his chest, his mind focused.

The warning bells from the speeder dimmed as the sound of a ship filled the air. Risking a glance at the sky, the miracle that they needed had arrived.

The Ghost's ramp was lowered, Zeb standing as far out as possible without falling off. Holding on to a handle with one hand, he stretched out his other, calling to them.

"Come on!"

Hera was the first to get up. Ezra attempted to keep the landspeeder steady, but he could not avoid a few jerks and bumps. She jumped, landing on her knees before Zeb helped her up. She ran past him, no doubt to relieve Sabine from piloting.

"Ezra, go!" Kanan shouted, deflecting another shot back at the speeder. It went slightly to the left, stray dirt exploding upon impact. The trooper easily dodged it, still not giving up.

"No!" Kanan whipped around to his padawan.

"What?" he shouted. Ezra was sitting up straight in the driver's seat, his hands shaking slightly as he remained looking ahead.

"You go first!" he shouted. Ezra stole a glance back at his teacher, and knowing what he was thinking, continued speaking. "If I go, the speeder will get off track. Kanan, go!"

The sound of TIE fighters coming only decreased his patience. He knew Ezra was right, but it did not sit well with him. Kanan nodded to his padawan, looking him straight in the eyes, before retracting his lightsaber.

Hoping it was not the last time he saw the electric blue color, he jumped onto the Ghost.


	2. Concern

Ezra knew he did not have much time left, but he took comfort in the fact that everyone else was safe. He bit his lip as he unstuck his body from the leather seat, now covered in blood. He lightly touched his back with one of his hands, hissing at the pain. Looking at his fingers, they were soaked in the metallic liquid.

He took a deep breath, his mind flashing back to the fight.

_The strong hold around his neck._

_Air, air, he needed to breathe, but he could not get air. There were voices, but his mind was somewhere else. All he could think about was air._

_He risked a glance at the man who held him, and saw the blaster in his hand, pointing directly at…._

_Fueled by panic, he gathered all his strength, and kicked. Darkness swallowed him, and he used his momentum to throw the man off balance. He was released from his grip, shakily standing on the pavement. He heard the bounty hunter curse, before firing his gun._

_The first one missed him by a longshot, but he had to dodge the second one. The third he reflexively ducked under, before rushing at the man in anger._

_He grabbed onto his arms and pushed them to the side, making sure the gun was not trained on him. However, he underestimated the man’s strength. With a shove, Ezra lost his grip, and as he fell, his back scraped the jagged metal shelf._

_Then, there was pain like nothing he had felt before. It was as if his back was on fire, and every movement that he made only added to the burning sensation._

_He heard Hera’s voice, and answered. The blue light came closer to him, and he was on his feet, his façade back in place. He could live with a little pain; they had more important things to worry about._

_It had taken all of his willpower to hold back his scream when Kanan had touched his back. Apparently he had done okay, because the next thing he knew he was hotwiring a landspeeder and speeding into the distance._

His bloodied hand gripped the steering handles as it jerked. He grunted, trying to keep it from hurtling into a rock. The blaring sirens, despite their loudness, were overpowered with the sound of a rapidly approaching TIE fighter. Ezra took a deep breath, knowing that it could all go horribly wrong with even the slightest hesitation, and let go of the handles.

He quickly stood, knowing that the straight forward motion of the landspeeder would not stay straight for long.

He stole a quick glance at Zeb and Kanan, mustered his strength, and reached out to the force.

He heard the TIE fighter shoot, and he felt the heat of the explosion as he jumped. The blast propelled him forward, carrying him into the Ghost. He flailed his arms a bit in the air, the feeling of weightlessness sending his stomach rolling. The hard ground smacked into his stomach, knocking the air out of him. As if he did not have enough trouble breathing for one day.  

“Go!” someone shouted, and the ramp was closing as the ship’s speed increased. Ezra’s stomach flipped with the changes in altitude. He stayed on the floor, attempting to keep himself steady as the ship swerved from side to side, but his shaking hands could not grasp onto anything. He slid with the ship, unable to stop his body, which he now felt ram into something soft.

“What the -” a gruff voice said, before he slid away again. This time, his side slammed into the metal wall and he could not help but let out a small gasp of pain. He rolled over, still trying to catch his breath, and still trying to get his bearings straight.

But apparently his gasp had been louder than he thought, for the next thing he knew two hands were grabbing onto his shoulders. He heard someone shout something, but his ears were still ringing from the blast. And when he tried to read the lips of whoever was over him, everything was too blurry to make sense of.

A stab of fear penetrated through him. Where was he? Who was trying to grab him? Instincts kicked in as he tried to get away from the hands. However, this just made them tighten, and it made Ezra more afraid. He squirmed, his body twisting and turned as he tried to evade whoever had him.

But then another set of hands joined the first. They were stronger and tougher, and they pushed his back into the cold metal floor.

Ezra screamed. He knew somewhere in his mind that it was only the floor, but it did not feel like it. Instead, it felt as if the hands were pushing him deeper and deeper into the blazing inferno. The hands left his body, but the pain did not.

He stopped moving, his body exhausted and his mind confused. The pain from his back was still there, but he did not have the strength to fight against it anymore.

But when the hands returned on his body, he flinched; but he did not resist. He knew when there was no way out for him. He opened his eyes, hoping to get a look at who was holding him down. Two pairs of eyes bore down at him, but their facial features were still blurred.

He turned to the smaller, sea foam green eyes. They were radiating with concern, and Ezra wondered how he knew that. The other pair of eyes was comforting, but it was not the same. There was something that he trusted in the green eyes. Voices called out to him, but the words never reached his ears. He felt his lips moving, trying to get his captors to let him go.

But the next thing he knew, the darkness pounced.

* * *

Kanan held onto the ladder for his life as Hera maneuvered the ship to avoid the TIE’s. They had managed to get back to their home, but now their safety was in Hera’s hands. And Kanan knew that she was capable. But this flight was not her smoothest. Kanan smirked a bit, making a note to tease her about it later.

With one last large swerve, Kanan felt the ship enter space. But he also heard a sound that sent a chill down his spine.

He whipped around to the source of the small cry to find Ezra, lying on his back, his eyes closed.

Kanan rushed over to him, placing his hands on his shoulders.

“Ezra?” Kanan asked, but if Ezra had heard him, he made no move to answer. “Zeb, what happened?” he asked the Lasat, who was now kneeling beside him.

“I don’t know; the kid just slid into me! I thought he was just bein’ lazy,” Zeb admitted.

“Tell Hera we’re going to need medical supplies,” Kanan shouted, but before Zeb could even reach for his com link, Ezra began to fight. He arched his back and flailed his limbs all over. “Zeb, help me hold him down!”

Zeb put one hand on the kid’s stomach and one on his legs. And Ezra let out a pain filled scream. It was like nothing Kanan had ever heard from the teen. It was as if he could hear years of pain and desperation behind it, and it shot shivers through his mind. Kanan and Zeb immediately let go, and the scream continued on for a few more dreadful seconds before Ezra stopped.

Kanan reached forward again, placing his hands on Ezra’s shoulders.

“Ezra?” he asked. He saw his reflection in Ezra’s blue glassy eyes, but there was no recognition of who he was.

“Please…” Ezra whispered. Kanan and Zeb froze in their spots. “Please… please, no.” Ezra whispered again. He looked Kanan in the eyes, and he could see the pain and scars that Ezra always tried to hide. He was raw and exposed like this, and it was frightening to hear such an upbeat teen sound so defeated. “Please, let me go. Let me go.”

Ezra’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, the white in his eyes disappearing behind his eyelid. Kanan swallowed.

A small beep broke the stunned silence in the room. Kanan, shaken out of his trance, pulled out his com link.

“Kanan, is everything alright? I heard a scream,” Hera said. Kanan blinked a few times, still shocked at what had just occurred, before answering.

“No, everything is not alright. Ezra’s hurt. Get to the med bay, stat.” Kanan put the com away, confident that Hera would not need any clarification.

“Zeb.” The Lasat took hold of Ezra’s legs while Kanan grabbed him from under his arms. Ezra’s head rested on Kanan’s stomach, his shoulders arched over his head.

He and Zeb carried him through the hallway, making their way to the med bay.

Kanan knew that this was his fault. If he had just been watching Ezra at the marketplace, then the bounty hunter would not have gotten the jump on him, and Ezra would not have gotten thrown from an exploding landspeeder and been hurt. He remembered the image clearly.

_They just needed a few supplies, nothing major, so they had taken the risk and gone to the market. It was only supposed to be Kanan, but when it was clear that he had no clue what the gear looked like nor its name, Hera opted to tag along._

_But that meant leaving the three ‘kids’ home alone, something that spelled disaster. As if to prove their point, a loud crash echoed through the halls, followed by shouting. Hera and Kanan sighed, deciding that it was best to take Ezra with them. That, and the fact that he had pleaded to go with them until Kanan folded._

_Kanan knew that danger seemed to follow the kid wherever he was, so it was better if he was there with him when the danger caught up._

_But one second, he was right by his side. And the next, the kid had vanished. He turned to Hera, who was purchasing the gear they needed, and asked her where the kid had gone. When she did not know the answer, they began frantically scanning the crowds._

_Kanan was the first to spot him, locking onto Ezra’s force signature. They ran to the warehouse, creeping around the tall shelves. They saw their youngest member, who was in the clutches of the man who had been following them._

_Letting his emotions get the better of him, Kanan pulled his gun and sprinted away from their hiding spot, determined to save his dying padawan._

Ezra moaned as they laid him on the bed. Kanan slipped the vest off of his shoulders before flipping him so he was lying on his stomach.

The Ghost’s shakes and jolts stopped as it accelerated into hyperspace.

“Zeb, I need a med kit,” Kanan said, turning his attention up to the Lasat. He nodded. The worry was evident on his face as he turned to dig it out of the cabinet. Kanan turned back to Ezra, shaking his head as he looked at his blood soaked clothes.

“Karabast, kid. What happened?” His stretched his hand out, planning on rubbing circles on the kid’s back, before stopping. He held his hand closer, examining the strange stain on his glove. He then examined his grey pants, remembering back to the warehouse.

He thought it was just the factory floor that was sticky. He had no idea that it was Ezra’s blood.

The door whooshed open.

“Kanan?” Kanan turned to see the fear in Hera’s bright green eyes. Her hand covered her mouth, and before he could get a word in edgewise, Hera rushed past him and to the bed. She kneeled down beside him, eyes wide at the sight of blood.

“Hera, I…I think he got hurt when the bounty hunter shot the lights off. I’m not sure what happened,” Kanan said, trying to explain the situation to Hera.

“He was a bounty hunter?” she asked, eyes darting to Kanan. “What did a bounty hunter want with us, with Ezra?” Kanan shook his head.

“You’re guess is as good as mine.”

The door opened, revealing a helmetless and worried Sabine.

“What happened?” she asked. Hera took the med kit from Zeb and began shifting through it to find the supplies she needed.

“We ran into a bounty hunter,” Kanan simply stated.

“What!” Sabine exclaimed.

“Sabine, we’ll explain all of it later. Right now I need to get Ezra patched up.” Hera looked back at them, and without saying anything, they nodded, and reluctantly left the room. “We need to take his shirt off.”

Kanan nodded, taking the medical scissors and cutting the thin shirt. Ezra shifted as he peeled the cloth off of his now red back, leaving his upper body exposed to the cold air. He would not be pleased that they had ruined his shirt, but he needed a new one anyway.  Hera went to work immediately, cleaning the dry blood until the gash was visible. It was long and ran diagonal across his upper back, turning bright red as fresh blood seeped out.

“Well, the good news is it’s not a blaster wound,” Hera stated, gathering bandages from the med kit. “It’s deep, but not deep enough for stitches.” Kanan nodded.

“The shelf…”

“What?” Hera asked.

“If he wasn’t shot, then he must have scrapped his back against the shelf. He was on the ground when we got to him, remember?” Hera nodded.

“You’re probably right about that, but I still don’t understand who that bounty hunter was.” She sighed as she motioned for Kanan to sit Ezra up. He turned the boy over, careful not to upset the wound even more, and leaned the teenager into his chest. Hera began wrapping the bandages around his torso, wincing when Ezra would moan or shift. Kanan held him close, running fingers through his messy dark hair, trying to soothe him.

Hera finished, securing the bandages, and Kanan lied Ezra back on his bunk.

They stood, watching their youngest member.

“I guess we’ll have to wait until he wakes up to find out the truth,” Hera said, turning to face Kanan. He kept his gaze on his padawan, biting his lip. “Kanan?” He looked at Hera. “There was nothing you could do to prevent this.” He sighed.

“I know, I just… I just can’t help but feel responsible for him.” Hera flashed a small smile.

“Well, someone has too.” She stood, and Kanan followed. “I mean, he’s never mentioned what exactly happened in his past. But I can only imagine.” Hera sighed. “Do you think he’ll ever see his parents again?”

“Honestly… I’m not sure if it’s even a good idea. Attachments are forbidden, and he’s already developed attachments for us. That’s why when the Inquisitor threatened our lives he turned to the dark side.”

Hera and Kanan walked out of the room and the door slid shut behind them.

“Do you think that his parents would lead him to use the dark side again?”

“I would like to hope not, but… it’s a possibility,” Kanan admitted.

“But Kanan, we have to tell him soon, don’t we?” Hera inquired.

“Yeah, we do. I’m just not sure how he’ll react to the news.” Kanan and Hera made their way into the cockpit and sat in their seats.

“Kanan, it’s been over eight years now. Do you think when he finds out they’re alive he’ll leave us and try to rescue them?”

“Yeah, I do,” Kanan admitted. “And besides, we’re not even sure if they _are_ alive. It’s just a rumor that’s been going around.”

“But you’re forgetting about Tseebo. He told me that they were alive.”

“Yeah, but that was a while ago. And now, out of nowhere, people are saying that the Bridger broadcasters have been spotted all across the galaxy.” Kanan shook his head. “I don’t buy it. Something doesn’t feel right about it.” Hera nodded, placing a gloved hand on his armored shoulder.

“I trust your instincts. If you don’t think it’s a good idea to tell him, then we won’t.” Kanan nodded, thankful for everything that Hera did. “But Kanan – we do have to tell him sometime.”

“Yeah, I know…” Kanan admitted. Ezra deserved to know, but Kanan knew he was afraid of the truth. The truth that they were alive or the truth that they were dead, Kanan did not know which.

And that was the part that worried him the most.

Ezra had assumed that his parents had died long ago, but was he afraid that it was true, or that it was not? And if so, why would he be afraid that his parents were alive?


	3. Silence

Ezra winced, the light from above impairing his vision. He brought his hand up to his eyes, rubbing them, before sitting up.

But something was not right. He was in the med bad, not his own; and as he looked down at his body, bandages were wrapped around his chest, practically covering it up entirely. He rubbed his eyes again, disorientated.

He remembered the landspeeder, the chase; and the explosion. A burst of fire shot up his spine, and Ezra flinched at the pain. He fell to the floor, managing to catch himself at the last minute before hitting his head. He rubbed the back of it, hands gliding over the bump from where he had been hit, as the memory came swarming back to him.

_He was at the market, beside Kanan. He could tell that he was being protective, but it was annoying him that every other second Kanan would glance over his shoulder to see if Ezra was still there. Ezra rolled his eyes at his master, despite the feeling of caring that surfaced through him. It was odd; he had never felt what it was like to be cared about._

_But as his eyes returned to his master, who was now looking away as if his glance had gone undetected, he noticed something on the edge of his eyesight. He turned quickly, his heart beating as his mind refused to believe what he saw. It was impossible._

_With one last glance at Kanan, and a regretful look on his face, he disappeared into the crowd. He had years of experience, and knew that he would only have a few minutes before his master would check on him and find nothing but empty space._

_He raced through the crowd, his heart beating as he stopped in front of the building where he had seen the figure. Walking through the door, he refrained from igniting his blade. His hands glided on the metal shelves, guiding him through the warehouse._

And then… suffocating, blaster shots and pain. Ezra blinked, taking a deep breath.

He slowly stood, his shaking body's protest ignored by his stubborn mind. He held on to whatever was closest to him, using it as an anchor in case he was to go astray. When he made it to the door, his mind was becoming clearer, and his body had stopped shaking.

Thankful for the automatic doors, he made his way down the hall and towards the common room. He had no doubt that someone would be there. He needed to tell them to run, to leave him somewhere and  _run_. If the man was who he thought he was, then they would all be dead by the next rotation.

Ezra shuffled into the room, and four eyes looked up at him.

"Ezra?" Hera asked, as the crew stood up from their seats, concern and confusion written all over their faces. "What are you doing up?"

"Where are we?" Ezra questioned. Hera answered hesitantly.

"We're on Lothal. Do you remember what happened?" But if Ezra had heard her, he paid no attention. Instead, he shoved himself off of the door frame and shuffled forward.

"We need to go.  _Now_." He grunted as another flare of pain shot through him, and the only thing that stopped him from falling to the ground was Zeb's bulky arms.

"Karabast, Hera. What did you put 'im on?" Zeb asked, still refraining from letting the teen stand, despite Ezra's attempts.

"Nothing," Hera replied. Ezra managed to stand upright again, and pretended to dust himself off.

"Take it easy, Ezra," Kanan said.

"Yeah, you can barely hold yourself upright," Zeb observed.

"I'm fine," Ezra said. He then gestured to the bandages that wrapped around his chest. "Thanks for ruining my shirt, by the way."

"That's what you're mad about?" Zeb exclaimed, his voice growing in frustration. "Kid, you were bleedin' all over the cargo bay, muttering nonsense!"

"I had it under control!" Ezra defended.

"Sure you did," Zeb scoffed.

"I did! It wasn't that bad, I could handle it!"

"Ezra," Kanan said, his voice calm as he took a step towards the teen. He pretended not notice how Ezra flinched ever so slightly. "Just take a breath. Why do we need to leave? Does this have something to do with the bounty hunter in the warehouse?"

Ezra, wavering on his feet, nodded his head. "We need to leave, Kanan."

"Okay, but you have to explain the situation to us first."

"And you need to sit down before you fall over," Hera added. Zeb guided a now submissive Ezra to the small couch. He sat on the edge, his back not touching the seat.

"We need to leave-" Ezra started, before Zeb cut him off.

"Yeah, we got that part."

"If you would let me finish," Ezra snapped. "I was going to say: we need to leave because the man will be back. And next time he'll have a better plan."

"Who is he? And why is he after you?" Sabine asked. Hera and Kanan had told her and Zeb what had happened, but there were still holes in the story; holes that needed to be filled.

"I wish I knew," Ezra admitted. "He's been after me for a while now. He first tried to kill me by fighting, but when that wasn't effective, he tried to lure me places. I can't believe I fell for it again."

"Care to elaborate a bit more?" Kanan asked, raising his eyebrows at the padawan. He could sense that Ezra was holding back, but what he was holding back was unknown. Ezra shifted a bit in his seat, before sighing and lowering his shoulders.

"I first saw him when I was about 10. He followed me into an alley and…" Ezra swallowed. The weight of the air around them was heavy, the crew's imagination of what happened taking root. When Ezra spoke again, his words sliced through the silence. "But I outran him, in the end. And the next time I saw him, I raced out of the bar as fast as possible," Ezra shrugged. "There were a few more run-ins after that, but the last time I saw him was about a year or two ago, when he lured me into a building and set it on fire. I was able to get out, but I never saw him make it. I thought he was finally gone," Ezra voice sounded relieved, before changing back into the heavy tone. "But I was wrong."

The silence nearly suffocated Ezra. He could sense the crew processing the information, filling in the gaps that he had left blank. And when someone finally spoke, it did not do much to ease the tension.

"Why did you wait until now to tell us?" Kanan asked. Ezra knew he was just being protective, but he did not need protection.

"Because, like I mentioned, I thought he was gone. So when I saw him in the market place…" Ezra shrugged. "Curiosity won over."

"Yeah, and curiosity is what also killed the loth-cat," Zeb stated, his voice flat. Kanan, ignoring the comment but completely agreeing with it, spoke.

"Ezra, he was going to kill you right there-"

"I don't think so actually. Whatever he wants, he needs me alive to do it. That's why he knocked me out," Ezra stated matter-of-factly.

"He knocked you out?" Hera questioned, concern radiating off of her. Ezra winced. He should not have mentioned that.

"Yeah, but it's not big deal. I can handle it."

"Ezra," Hera said, scooching closer to him. "We're your family now, and we'll protect you." Kanan could not help but notice the small flinch Ezra had at the word 'family'. "You don't have to worry about him anymore. And I'll fly the Ghost up into the atmosphere. We can spend the night up there to make sure he doesn't come after you." Ezra nodded in approval. "But you need to let me see your head." After a moment of hesitation, Ezra conceded, and lowered his head.

"Ezra, has the man ever said anything to you? Anything that might give us a clue as to what he wants?" Sabine asked.

"Only once, the first time he cornered me. I can barely remember it though; it was… a long time ago." Kanan ran his hand over his chin.

"I may have a solution to that."


	4. Lie

Kanan was sitting cross legged on the floor of his bunk. His back was slightly slouched, leaning forward and watching his padawan. Ezra sat across from him, adjusting his position to make himself comfortable. It always took a while with him, but Kanan had learned to wait it out. It was better than Ezra having to constantly fidget throughout the whole meditation time. It always threw off Kanan’s focus, and Ezra’s.

Once Ezra had found his spot, he looked up at Kanan. He straightened his back and leveled his shoulders, taking a deep breath.

“Alright Ezra, this is how it will work. You have to open up the memory and let it flow through the force. I will have to probe a bit to find it, but if your mind is open, and if you are _focused_ , I won’t need to probe more than I usually do.”

“Wait, you’ve probed my mind before?”

“That’s not important,” Kanan deflected.

“No, I think it is. I’m not willing to open up the memory unless you answer me.” Kanan rolled his eyes. Out of all the teens to be stuck with as a padawan, he got this one.

“I don’t probe much – only emotions that are strong enough to be admitted and that I can easily sense.” Ezra looked a bit unconvinced. “Like when you were driving the landspeeder – I could feel your pain.”

“Oh,” Ezra mused. “That makes sense, I guess.”

“Since we’re on the subject – how _do_ you know how to hotwire a landspeeder?” Ezra shrugged.

“It’s just one of the skills you pick up when you need to make a quick getaway.”

“And how many times have you needed to make a quick getaway?” Kanan prodded, before shaking his head. “Never mind, we’re off topic. Now, take a deep breath,” he instructed. “And let the memory flow.”

It took a few moments, but Kanan was soon swept into Ezra’s memory. Opening his eyes, he found himself standing in the middle of a busy Lothal street. People hustled around him, not paying any attention to his presence. Kanan stood still for a moment, trying to find his padawan.

“Get back here!” Kanan turned towards the voice and saw none other than his wide eyed padawan racing through the crowd, arms full of fruit. “Filthy Loth-rat!” the man shouted once more, before slowing down and giving up the chase. Kanan followed Ezra’s trail closely, slowing down as he turned into the alley.

The image before him tugged at his heart.

Ezra sat with his knees pulled up to his chest, his clothes torn and dirty, munching on the fruit he had just stolen. His hair was a bit longer and his body was skinny and frail, probably from malnourishment. Kanan wanted nothing more than to reach out to him and hold him in his arms. He wanted to tell him that he was going to be okay. He wanted to make sure that he did not have to go through any more pain than he had already experienced.

But he knew he could not. He was merely an observer in Ezra’s memory, unable to interfere no matter how much he wanted to.

Kanan watched as Ezra’s gaze shot up and looked right at him. Or rather, right through him. Kanan turned around and came face to face with the same sleek black helmet that the bounty hunter wore.

“Ezra Bridger,” the gruff voice said. Kanan watched as the bounty hunter took a few steps forward. Ezra was frozen in the spot, dribbles of fruit juice still on his chin. The man pulled out his blaster, one somewhat similar to Kanan’s, and aimed.

Ezra jumped up at the sight of the blaster, his fruit spilling onto the ground. The man shot, but Ezra was able to dodge it. He scrambled behind the frame of a door, as there was nothing else to offer him protection. The bounty hunter stayed where he was and continued firing shots that marked the alley in black spots.

But instead of moving to a different angle to get a shot, he put his gun back into his holster. He rushed forward as Ezra peered out from behind the edge, and had no time to react. The bounty hunter had him by the neck, pushed up against the door. Ezra gasped for breath, and each time it sent stabs through Kanan’s mind.

It was the worst feeling, to be powerless. He knew that Ezra would survive through this, but it seemed as if the bounty hunter had him in his grasp.

But Ezra, through some unknown strength, managed to land a kick to the bounty hunter’s chest. He let go of his neck and Ezra fell to the floor with a gasp. The man was the first to recover, bolting upright as Ezra was still trying to catch his breath. With a strong kick to his side, Ezra was rammed into the side of the building.

Kanan saw a flash of metal in the man’s hand, and as he held it above his head, Kanan’s stomach flipped. A long piercing blade reflected the dim light of the setting sun. It felt as if time had slowed, the knife suspended above his head, his padawan staring up in fear. But as the knife descended, it seemed as if time had sped up.

Ezra let out a mangled cry that shot through Kanan’s heart, the pain bruising him more than any blaster shot could. He watched as the blade came down again, and again; slashing and slicing the child who was screaming with each tear at his skin. The blade was now coated with red, as was the ground underneath them.

The man took a step back, his knife resting at his side, revealing the torn and bloodied boy.  He whimpered in pain, and Kanan thought for sure that the bounty hunter would have killed him right there. But instead, he spoke, his helmet masking the sound of his voice.

“You have something that belongs to the Empire. The data chip. You will give it to me, or suffer the consequences.”

 Kanan was relieved that he, and his padawan, did not have to experience this horrible memory for nothing. With those few words, Kanan had deduced information that would be valuable to figuring out his identity. One, he was in search of a data chip and two; he was working for the Empire. It did number down the list of suspects. Kanan had first presumed it was someone from his past that held a grudge, or someone from Ezra’s past.

But it did give rise to more worries. If the Empire had hired this man, that meant whatever this data chip was, it was of high importance; especially if they would be willing to injure a ten year old kid to get it.

“Hand over the data chip,” the masked voice asked again. Ezra appeared not to hear the man, and Kanan suspected it was from a knock to the head that occurred at some point in the scuffle. The man, growing angry at Ezra’s silence, decided to try and convince him to speak.

He pulled out his blaster and aimed it at Ezra. He was still lying on the ground, but seemed to be coming to. But not fast enough. The man somehow had no idea that Ezra was not coherent, and began shouting.

“The data chip!”

Ezra seemed to recognize the noise and turned to the man. His eyes, however glassy, widened at the sight of the gun. He opened his mouth to speak, but the bounty hunter had run out of patience. His finger rested on the trigger, ready to pull.

But before he could, Ezra did something that stunned Kanan. He raised his hands in self-defense, eyes closed as if accepting that the final strike would come.

But it did not.

Instead, the bounty hunter flew across the alley, his body slamming into the wall and his gun clattering to the ground. Ezra, stunned by the sudden outburst (and probably having no idea what had just happened), wasted no time in taking advantage of it. Taking mind of his injuries, he stood up and stumbled out of the alleyway.

The bounty hunter stood as well, but made no move to chase after Ezra. He seemed content with letting him get away, which worried Kanan even more. If he was letting him go, that could only mean that he knew where he would end up.

The sky began to fade. Ezra’s memory ended there, but the image still lingered. Kanan could feel Ezra’s presence tugging on his, beckoning to see if he was alright. But Kanan focused on the memory.  He needed to get any information that he could.  

And when the blackness was almost covering the entire world, the bounty hunter reached up, and took off his helmet.

Kanan opened his eyes, inhaling a deep breath. Across from him, Ezra held himself close, his hands grasping onto the opposite arm, his form looking smaller than normal. Kanan moved himself over to his padawan, wrapping an arm over Ezra. As soon as his arm came into contact with his shoulder, Ezra turned and held onto his teacher. Kanan pushed his surprise away.

“It’s alright, Ezra. You’re going to be alright. He can’t hurt you anymore.” Kanan’s words seemed to calm the teen, however his grip did not falter. Sniffling echoed in the room, but Kanan made no comment; he continued to whisper words of assurance. After a bit, the sniffling stopped, and Ezra spoke.

“What did you see?” Kanan waited a beat before answering.

“The man is working for the Empire, and he wants some sort of data chip,” Kanan explained. “Does that mean anything to you?”

“No, not at all,” Ezra said. He broke away from Kanan, and he could not help but feel cold without his padawan nestled against his chest. “It could be something I stole, or something I stole for someone else, or-”

“Okay, so that does not narrow it down.” Kanan pondered for a moment. “Do you keep everything you stole somewhere?” Ezra’s eyes shifted around. “Ezra?”

“I usually just stole food and stuff, cause… well, you know. I had to eat somehow,” Ezra explained. Kanan nodded. “But sometimes I would steal the wrong crate, and just be left with a bunch of Imperial wiring equipment or tech. I kept it, obviously, it would be wrong to give it back after I took it fair and square.”

Kanan raised an eyebrow about this, but since it was regarding the Empire, he made no move to argue.

“And sometimes I would just take things because I was bored,” Ezra admitted with a shrug.

“What?” Kanan questioned.

“It was funny to watch them fumble around, looking for something they had just put down,” Ezra smirked. Kanan flashed back to the times when random appliances had vanished from him, and narrowed his eyes.

“And you would never do that to us, right?” Kanan threatened, half teasing.

“Of course not,” Ezra said, displaying an innocent look on his face. Kanan could not resist the small smile on his own. Ezra was truly unique. “But anyway, anything that I took and didn’t eat, I hid in my tower.”

“Then that’s where we’ll go. If we can find this data chip, we can figure out what information the Empire wants back so badly.” Kanan stood, as did Ezra. Their legs tingled as they tried to walk it off.

“Kanan?” Ezra asked.

“Yeah?”

“Did… did you see the man’s face?” Kanan took a deep breath before responding, flashing back to the image.

“No… no, I did not.”

Ezra nodded, his mind still too focused on his past scars to detect Kanan’s lie.


	5. Fraction

“Chopper, I _know_ that you don’t want to do it, but you don’t have a choice here,” Hera argued. The droid beeped back at her, and Hera rolled her eyes.

“Oh, don’t be dramatic. You only need to re-calibrate the landing system; it should only take ten minutes’ tops. Then you can go back to whatever prank you were pulling.” Chopper, after letting out an exasperated sigh, rolled out of the control room. Hera just rolled her eyes again and got back to fixing up the ship.

It had taken some damage due to the explosion, and she knew it was only a matter of time before the Empire would be on their trail again. After narrowly escaping the city, she had come back around and landed in a remote location. It was a risk for her to land so soon after they had caused trouble, and it would be a greater risk for them to stay for the time it took for Chopper to fix the landing calibration. But it had to be done.

The door opened, and Hera spun around in her chair.

“Hey Hera,” Sabine said. She walked up to her seat and leaned on the controls.

“Hello, Sabine,” Hera responded, turning back to her repairs. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, and that’s the problem. I need more green paint to finish my latest artwork.” Hera could not help but smile. Sabine had a creativity that could not be contained.

“Alright, Sabine. You can go to the market – but I also need you to pick up a few things, considering we left the majority of it behind,” Hera explained.

“Sounds good to me.” Sabine, after Hera explained the things she needed, turned to walk out the door.

“Oh,” Hera interjected. “Take Zeb with you too. I think he needs the distraction.”

Sabine nodded once more, a look of understanding on her face. Seeing Ezra hurt had put a damper on all of them. As she left the room, Hera turned her attention back to the control panel. She had managed to buy the gear she needed before everything had gone down in flames and had to conduct her own repairs. Hera sighed, her shoulders slumping in her seat as she mulled over what Ezra had said.

There was someone out there who had hunted him for years. And it wasn’t the same as the Empire; it was one person who was more than capable of killing him. The only reason he had not was because Ezra still had some use to the man. But what use, Hera did not want to know.

She took a deep breath and resumed replacing the gear, hoping that Kanan would figure out what was going on before it was too late.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

Going into his tower, Ezra felt a bit self-conscious. Sure, Kanan had been in there before, right after the spice mines. But he was not actually invited, and he had not stayed long.

But this time, he was actively bringing him into the place where he had lived, and he used the term loosely, for the past eight years. There was not anything of worth in there, at least not to him, and even though it was his home, it did not have happy memoires.

But hopefully Kanan would not comment on his feelings, as he now knew that he could probe his mind. A thought occurred to him. If Kanan could probe his mind, then was it possible that he could probe his?

“Don’t even think about it, kid,” Kanan said, breaking the silence that they had shared.

“What? I didn’t say anything.”

“No, but you thought it,” he pointed out.

“Yeah,” Ezra grumbled. “But thoughts are supposed to be private.”

“What was that?”

“You heard me.” They had reached the top of the tower, and Ezra hesitated a moment before entering. He felt Kanan’s presence following, and felt a bit out of place as he took in the small room. “Home sweet home,” Ezra grunted.

He walked over and plopped onto the stiff cot, feigning to be indifferent about the situation. From the corner of his eye he watched as Kanan scanned the room. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

“So, where do we start?” Ezra sat up, nose scrunching as he glanced around.

“What do you mean?”

“Where are the things that you stole?” Ezra looked at Kanan in confusion, and gestured to the whole room.

“This is it.” A look of understanding flashed on Kanan’s face.

“Okay, but where do you keep small data chips?”

“Ohh, those,” Ezra said, smirking as his teacher radiated annoyance. Ezra jumped off the cot and pulled it aside. It landed on the floor and a puff of dust rose into the air. Underneath there were three boxes that elevated the cot. “This is most of the Imperial stuff that I didn’t use.”

“Alright,” Kanan said, walking over and opening the first box. Ezra opened the second box and began sorting through it. He knew Kanan would have no luck; the box he was sorting through was primarily wires and other spare parts. But the box he was sorting through held his more personal possessions.

He shifted through them, searching for the data chip. Upon reaching the bottom and having no success, he put the lid back on it and pushed it into its place.

“Find anything?” Ezra asked, pulling the third box out popping the lid off.

“I didn’t find the data chip, but I do have a question.” Ezra looked up. “Where did you find this?” Kanan held up a small metal ball, the metal rusted after all of its years wasting away. On the top was a red dot that was not ignited.

“That?” Ezra questioned, and Kanan nodded in response. “I stole it from some ex-Imperial agent. He got caught stealing artifacts and he somehow managed to escape. He was a nice guy, for the most part, but he had zero sense when it came to street skills. That was the only thing that looked somewhat interesting, but I never could figure out how it worked.” Ezra began shifting through the third box as Kanan continued to stare at it.

“It’s called a droid popper.” Ezra’s gaze shot up, staring at Kanan with uncertainty and a hint of disbelief. “It was used in the clone wars. You threw one of these, and it would send out an electronic magnetic pulse that would short circuit any droid within range.” Kanan let out a small chuckle. “Sure saved my life more times than I can remember.”

Ezra nodded; surprised that Kanan had spoken of his past. He admired him for that, after how much he had revealed earlier with his memories. He began shifting through the box again, before his eyes rested on three small cards that had the Imperial symbol imprinted on them.

“Found them!” He shot up from his box, looking to Kanan.

“Them?” Kanan questioned. Ezra tossed them, one at a time, and turned back to put the box away.

“Huh,” Kanan mulled.

“What is it?” Ezra asked, turning back from the boxes.

“The man is only after one of these. We’ll have to take them all and view them on the ship.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?”

“Sabine will find a way,” Kanan smiled. “Now, let’s get back there and see what this bounty hunter wants from you.” He rested a hand on Ezra’s shoulder as they walked out of the tower.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

Sabine was glad that she had brought Zeb along. Hera had needed more supplies than she expected, and Zeb had the right amount of strength to carry the box. And, if he had not come, Sabine would never have remembered all of the supplies that they needed. It was not really her fault; she was just completely invested in her art. She needed the exact shade of green in order to complete her newest mural, or else it would not work.

They boarded the Ghost, passing a grumbling Chopper on the ramp. Zeb set the box down with a huff and turned to see what the droid was up to. Sabine, knowing how this would end, rolled her eyes and walked through the hallways and into her room.

She set down her green paint and took off her helmet, sliding her bangs out of her sight. She placed the helmet on her bed when she heard her door open.

But something in her gut did not feel right. The door had opened, but no one had spoken to her. Her heart beat picked up as the silence continued for another second, and another. By the fifth second she whipped around, her blasters drawn.

In the doorframe stood a man, his black helmet exactly as Hera and Kanan had described. How he had gotten onto the ship, she did not know. But she did know that she was not going down without a fight.

She needed a fraction of a second to pull the trigger of her gun, nothing more, and nothing less. But the bounty hunter knew this, and he pulled the trigger first.


	6. Insurgents

Kanan and Ezra walked through the Lothal field back to the Ghost. Kanan walked in front with a bit more power and holding the data chips in his hands. He wanted nothing more than to get back to the ship and figure out what this man was after.

However, Ezra walked a bit behind, his arms folded. Thoughts were racing through his mind faster with each step he took towards the Ghost. The bounty hunter that had terrorized him for years was still alive, hunting for this data chip. And now, if Kanan and the crew read the information on the data chip, then they would all be in danger.  

He was already responsible for his parent’s death. It was his ability in the force that made them speak up, and his ability in the force that got them killed. He could not handle being responsible for the crew’s pain, not after how nice they had been to him.

“Something on your mind?” Kanan asked, the question cutting through the silence.

“What, you’re not probing my mind?” Ezra snapped. He was not in the mood to talk with Kanan about this. He was already mentally exhausted from everything, and now physically as well from the long journey.

“I told you Ezra, I can only sense strong emotions. You can sense the same with me.”

“Yeah, I realized that when you were captured,” Ezra answered sulkily.

“Yeah, Hera told me,” Kanan responded. “And right now you’re emitting despair and regret. So, what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing.” Ezra turned his head away, unable to look his teacher in the eye after the blatant lie. Silence refilled the air as they continued on. A few minutes later, Kanan spoke up.

“When you first joined us, I was proud to take you on as my padawan. But when I realized what that meant, I put off your training because I had no clue where to start. I saw a lot of myself in you, and since I hadn’t even dealt with my own problems, I had no clue how to help you with yours.” Kanan’s words cleared Ezra’s mind as he listened intently. “So… what I’m trying to say is, I… I’m sorry, that I didn’t find you sooner, and that I’m not always the best Jedi master. Heck, I never even finished my training. But I promise I’m going to make sure that you finish yours.”

Ezra was stunned. He took a moment to take in Kanan’s words before answering.

“Kanan, it’s not your fault that I was alone. And it’s not your fault that this bounty hunter came after me. Yeah, I guess you could say I went through a lot. But…” Ezra sighed, coming to the realization as he spoke. “It doesn’t really matter how we got here, just that we’re here now, right?” Ezra looked up for reassurance, and found Kanan’s soft smile. “And it doesn’t matter to me that you never finished. You’re… you’re a good teacher.”

Ezra took a deep breath, the calm replacing the despair that had overtaken him only a few moments ago. Kanan’s arm wrapped around his shoulder and he pulled him in for a bit of an awkward side hug.

“And you’re a good student. Even if you still fidget too much when meditating,” Kanan teased.

“Hey, that’s not my fault – the floor is really uncomfortable!” Ezra argued. Kanan only laughed.

They were still smiling when they walked up the grassy hill. But upon reaching the top, their laughter fell short. Below them was the Ghost, in the same position as before. But that was not the troublesome sight. On the extended ramp was Zeb, lying face down, arms spread above his head. Next to him lied Chopper, powered down.

Kanan and Ezra exchanged a worried glance before rushing forward.

Ezra dropped to his knees next to Zeb, staring down at his body in horror. He placed his hand on his neck, praying to the force that he would find one.

The steady, but slow, beat could be felt, and Ezra let out the breath he was holding. He looked up at Kanan, his glance saying it all.

“Stay here,” he ordered, before rushing into the ship. Ezra, for once, had no intention of going against that order. Whoever had done this knew what they were doing.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

Kanan raced through the hallways, his blaster drawn and his senses outstretched. He sensed Sabine in her cabin, but like Zeb’s presence, it was dulled. She must be unconscious as well.

He then reached out for Hera, and could sense her fear. Expanding his horizons, he felt another presence with her in the cockpit. And it was the same presence that he felt at the Market.

Racing through the cockpit doors, he stopped dead in his tracks. There stood Hera, her arms stretched up and her eyes narrowed, despite the fear he saw in them. Across from her stood the bounty hunter, his black mask reflecting Hera’s face.

“Where is it!” the man shouted, pointing his blaster even closer to Hera. She opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of the door opening turned his attention to Kanan.

“Stay away from her,” he threatened, his lightsaber ignited. The man took only a brief moment to realize that he was outgunned. Turning, he shot at Kanan, whose blade deflected the shots back at the man. However, the bounty hunter was in motion, and the shots short circuited the co-pilots control panel. Having successfully distracted Kanan, the man jumped down the hatch that led to the ramp.

Kanan turned to Hera, who had thrown herself to the ground for protection.

“I’m alright. Go!” She shouted. With a nod, Kanan whipped around and jumped down after the bounty hunter. Landing on the ground, he stood up with his weapon drawn, expecting a fight. But instead, he saw Zeb and Chopper, still unconscious on the open ramp.

“Ezra!” Kanan yelled, realizing that the teenager was nowhere in sight. A brief moment of pure terror passed before he heard a small groan.

“Here,” he responded, climbing up from under the ramp.

“Ezra,” Kanan repeated, rushing towards him. “Are you alright? What happened?” He helped Ezra to stand and gently lead him up the ramp, sliding him down next to Zeb, who moaned a bit as he was coming to.

“I dodged his blaster shot and fell off the ramp. Then I rolled under it so he couldn’t shoot me again,” Ezra explained, rubbing his head. “I may have also hit my head on a rock, but I can’t really remember.”

“Ugh… wha’ happened?” Zeb’s gruff voice asked, as he rubbed his own head and sat up.

“The bounty hunter found us.” Zeb’s eyes snapped to attention.

“What? Why, when I get my hands on ‘im…” Zeb threatened. Ezra bit his lip, surprised that Zeb’s anger was at the man and not at him.

“Is everyone okay?” Hera asked, stepping off of the last bar of the ladder.

“Yeah, I think so,” Kanan answered. The door above the small hanger opened and out stepped Sabine, looking just about as angry as Zeb.

“How did he find us?” She questioned. “There’s no way he can be _that_ good.” Silence filled the air as each crew member pondered the question.

“If there’s one thing I learned over the years,” Ezra said, his voice at a whisper yet audible to everyone, “It’s that he’s capable of anything.”

The crew sat in stunned silence once more as it finally sank in how dangerous this man truly was. Ezra fidgeted on the ground, picking up flecks of dirt and placing them in a small pile.

“Well,” Kanan said, taking a deep breath. “I think it’s time to see what’s on these data chips.”

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

While Hera was rebooting Chopper and Zeb eating waffles, Ezra, Kanan, and Sabine sat on the red couch. The Jedi and Jedi-in-training watched as she fiddled with the wiring of the holo-table. Kanan held the three data chips in his hands, studying them as if they would give him the answers they needed. Ezra, however, picked at a loose thread of his new shirt, which had already begun to tear.

“That should do it!” Sabine said, pulling herself up from underneath the table. “Shove the first one in.”

Kanan obliged, and before them appeared a screen that showed an image of an Imperial cruiser.

“Woah, this details the stations of the bucket heads inside. That could be useful,” Kanan said.  Sabine shook her head.

“Yeah, it would have been… five years ago. The Empire changes their protocols every Galactic year. Put the next one in.”

Kanan did so, and the next image that appeared before them was far more interesting.

“Woah, that’s the thing Tseebo had,” Ezra noticed.

“Yeah, it looks like it. But I doubt the Empire would send a bounty hunter after this.”

“Third times a charm,” Kanan said, placing the last data chip into the port. The image appeared before them. They stared at it for a few moments in silence, before Sabine spoke.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Yeah, it is,” Kanan said solemnly.

“I had no clue that the Empire _had_ that!” Sabine shouted, her voice a mix of shock and anger.

“Had what?” Ezra asked, and two pairs of eyes turned to him. Looking between them both, he shrugged his shoulders. “How am I supposed to know what it says?” Sabine’s face grew sad, while Kanan’s grew surprised. However, he shook it off, and explained.

“This data chip holds the location of a detention facility that seems to still be in operation.”

“You mean a prison?” Ezra questioned. Kanan nodded his head. “Who gets sent there?”

“Insurgents of the Empire.” Upon seeing Ezra’s confused look, he clarified. “People like us. Rebels.”

“So basically what you’re saying is… there’s a whole base of people who stood up to the Empire, who’d be more than willing to join our cause?”

“Yep,” Kanan answered.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Ezra asked. “Let’s go save them!”

“Normally, I would be all on board. But there’s only one _major_ problem with that,” Sabine remarked. “This building has _four_ cruisers stationed around the moon’s planet, and _two_ cruisers stationed _on_ the planet. I hate to be negative, but there is no way that the six of us can even make it to the prison, much less rescue the insurgents.”

A moment of silence passed over them.

“Well,” Kanan said, the deviousness back in his voice. “It’s a good thing that there aren’t _just_ five of us.”

 


	7. Patient 0018

"This is a stretch, even for you," Hera said, turning around in her seat to look at Kanan.

"Yeah," Sabine said. "And I can't believe that we managed to steal an Imperial Sentinel-Class shuttle. These are only used for high-ranking officials in the Empire."

"Well," Kanan said. "Technically, we are high-ranking. At least, on the Empire's most wanted," he smirked.

"Yeah," Ezra joined in. "Just another reason this plan won't work. They'll recognize us right away."

"That's the point," he said.

"I'm not following."

"Were you not paying attention during the briefing?" Ezra stared at him with a blank face. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Kanan smiled, but braced himself for whatever snappy reply Ezra would make. However, when none came, he turned back towards the teen. "Everything alright?" Something had to be up. Ezra never missed the chance to sass anyone.

"Yeah, just fine," he grumbled, crossing his head and looking away. The ex-Jedi raised his eyebrows.

"Kanan," Hera said, and Kanan's words died in his throat. "We're coming out of hyperspace now." He bit his lip and turned back towards Hera.

"Alright. Let's do this."

"Wait," Ezra said. "I still don't know what's going on."

"It's simple. We're surrendering."

"Wait, what?" Ezra exclaimed. Kanan smiled and the blue swirl of hyperspace faded away, the ship jerking as it came upon the moon. Before them, four massive cruisers loomed, and the crew stared in silence. A voice crackled to life on the control panel.

"Landing Craft 2-059, identify yourself." Kanan stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"This is trooper LS-538, requesting permission to pass. We have the insurgents of Lothal captured and contained."

The crew held their breaths as they waited for a response.

"Trooper LS-538, we do not have confirmation that the insurgents were commandeered."

"The insurgents were captured during a secret mission by the Grand Inquisitor. It is not recorded as to keep the people on Lothal from aiding them. But if you look in section R-38, you'll see the report," Kanan explained. Another moment of silence passed.

"Trooper, you have permission to pass."

The crew let out the breath they were holding, relieved that the plan had actually worked.

"Nice one, Sabine," Zeb said, patting her on the back.

"I told you my codes would work," she responded. "They got us in, but they won't be able to get us out once we free the captives."

"Leave that part to me," Hera said, piloting the ship down into the moon's atmosphere. The clouds cleared, and before them, a jungle world appeared. The base was large and similar to the Spire that they entered when attempting to rescue Master Luminara Unduli. It was built alongside a cliff, with a long bridge that jettisoned over it, connecting to multiple landing platforms. But since they were a prisoner transport, Hera piloted the ship to the top of the tower, where a large landing platform was built.

"Ready?" Kanan asked, turning to the crew.

"As we'll ever be," Zeb responded.

"Sabine, tell the Wookies that we're ready to go." Sabine nodded and rushed out the door. "Zeb, Chopper, take out those turrets. Ezra, stick by me. Hera?"

The ship landed, and she stood up from her seat, pulling out her blaster. "Let's do this."

He smiled, and together, they ran out of the cockpit and into the main hangar of the ship, where around twenty Wookies stood, their guns and crossbows at the ready.

"Alright. Follow me!" Kanan shouted. They growled and roared in response, raising their weapons above their heads.

From outside, the sounds of firing began. An explosion told them that one of the turrets was gone, and soon after another loud blast indicated that so was the other one. Hera smacked the button on the side of the ship, and the ramp lowered, bursts of air hissing around it.

Kanan raced out first, with Ezra right at his tail. He felt exhilarated as they charged down the bridge, headed towards the turbolifts. His blue blade deflected the shots from the trooper stationed outside of the shaft, returning it to the source. The man went down with a grunt.

"Alright, pile in!" Kanan shouted, hurrying half of the Wookies into one of the three lifts. Hera and Zeb joined in. "Get down to the detention cells and free as many people as you can. Then make your way to the lower landing platforms; there should be a ship there."

"Got it. See you soon," Hera said, and the turbolift door slid closed.

The second lift opened up and Sabine, along with the rest of the Wookies, rushed in.

"Get to the power generator and see what you can do. Then go to the storage facilities and see if there are any miracles. Meet back at the landing platforms with whatever you can find."

"Miracles are my specialty," Sabine said, placing a hand on her hip as the doors slid shut.

"What about us?" Ezra asked.

"We're going to the lower detention cells. If this bounty hunter didn't want us to find this place, there must be something worth hiding."

The turbolift opened and the two Jedi stepped inside, followed by the grumpy droid. Kanan pressed the lowest button and the doors sealed shut.

"What are you thinking?" Kanan asked. Ezra looked to his left and met his gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"You're nervous and anxious. What's troubling you?"

"Nothing," he answered.

"Ezra…" Kanan warned. He sighed, knowing that his teacher would not give up.

"Do you… do you think, that… there's possibly a chance, that…"

"Just spit it out, kid." Ezra nodded, biting his lower lip.

"Do you think my parents could be here?"

Kanan seemed to have frozen. Ezra glanced at him nervously, wondering what could have possibly made him react that way. Kanan probably was just not expecting that. It was a stupid question anyway, since Ezra knew that his parents had to be dead. They just… had to be. But there was that glimmer of hope that kept him from facing the truth. That glimmer only made it harder for him to move on, but in his own defense, it was hard to move on from something that was still unsolved.

"Honestly, Ezra… I don't know." Ezra nodded, knowing that there was no true way to tell. But was it just him, or did he pick up on the slight unease coming from Kanan?

But before he could say something about it, his teacher spoke again. "Let's just stay focused on the mission. And if your parents are here, then I'm sure Hera and Zeb will find them."

He nodded, letting the subject drop. He knew that this was not the best time to pick a fight. But even if he had tried to call Kanan out on the strange feelings he was admitting, he would not have had the chance to speak. The turbolift jerked to a halt.

"Are we there already?"

"No, something's wrong." Kanan pressed a button on the turbolift, and when nothing happened, he cursed under his breath. "I didn't expect the Empire to be this quick. We're going to have to find another way down." He drew his lightsaber, the weapon emitting the familiar sound as it ignited.

"Or," Ezra said. "I could just do this." He crouched down in front of the panel of buttons and removed it with ease. Pulling his trusty wrench out of his pocket, he got to work. Within a few seconds the turbolift was running again.

"That could work," Kanan said, reattaching his lightsaber hilt to his belt. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Ezra stood back up, pocketing his tool, and shrugged. "I use to hot wire these for fun. I'd switch up all the numbers and increase the speed just to mess with the bucket heads."

He turned to look at Kanan, who was shaking his head, feigning to be annoyed by him. But thanks to the force, Ezra could sense his admiration.

Chopper beeped at him.

"Of course I'm telling the truth, Chopper. I can also mess with their Imperial droids, so I'd watch my back if I were you," he threatened. The droid retaliated by pulling out his Taser, and Ezra jumped back.

"Hey, hey, break it up you two. Save the fighting for the Empire," Kanan said.

The turbolift dinged, and they all looked up as the doors slid open. Ezra's stomach dropped.

Before them was a dimly lit hallway that led to a sealed door. There was nothing wrong with the hallway per say, but he had a bad feeling about this.

"Come on," Kanan said, walking forward with caution. Chopper followed, and Ezra was a bit behind. He could hear bells ringing through his head, telling him that something bad was about to happen. The way Kanan's back muscles tightened made him think that he felt it too.

But Kanan kept on moving forward, so it must not be that bad, right?

Chopper plugged into the door control panel and began to unlock it. After a brief moment, the door slid open.

And the bad feeling he had felt hit him with full force.

He scanned the room before him. There were two rows of medical tables, all with straps for arms and legs. Each had a small metal table next to it filled with sharp and dangerous tools. There had to be six tables in all, with one light hanging over each of them.

"Chop, stay here and watch our backs." The droid beeped about not wanting to go in there anyway as the door slid shut behind them.

"What is this place?" Ezra asked.

"I… I don't know," Kanan admitted. He walked over to the closest table on the right, and Ezra followed a strange feeling towards the middle one on the left.

The table was just like the others, except for one difference. On the metal table next to it was a datapad. Ezra picked it up and quickly scanned the information.

Operation Limbic Adaptation

Patient 0018

Subject was submitted to dosage 918-C Variation X. Within minutes the subject was displaying memory loss. After approximately ten minutes the subject had no recollection of their past or theirself. The subject was then admitted to rehabilitation.

The subject went through rehabilitation smoothly. They are now working under agent Kallus as trooper LS-738, and has no memory of the process-

"Kanan," Ezra breathed. "Kanan!" He whipped around, datapad still in hand, to see the man hurrying towards him. "They're experimenting on them. On the prisoners! They're getting rid of their memories!"

"What?"

"Read this!" Ezra shoved the datapad at his teacher, who took it and began scanning it. His eyebrows furrowed. When Kanan had finished, he looked back up with worry in his eyes.

"We need to get out of here."

"I agree," Ezra replied, and the three of them raced towards the door.

"Leaving so soon?"

They froze in their tracks. Turning around, they saw the bounty hunter standing in the middle of the six tables. His black helmet reflected their faces, and he drew his blaster, pointing it right at Ezra's own chest.


End file.
